sunguardfandomcom-20200216-history
Tempest Coast
The Tempest Coast is a region of Southwestern Quel'thalas bordered immediately to the north by Shallowbrook and to the south by the Gilded Lands, as well as holding a mountain pass that leads east into the Silver Ridge Mountains. So-named for the constant storms that batter the coastline, the Coast is a region of constant rain, rocky shores and hills, and sparse forests. Such an environment has made its people hardy and resilient, garnering much of their livelihood from the sea, the hills, or the high mountains it is bordered by. In the modern day, it benefits from the committed and concerted efforts of its surviving houses to rebuild after the catastrophe of the Fall of Quel'thalas, operating under the leadership of Ceana Greyflame, a common-born knight who now holds claim to the land, after the extinction of the formerly ruling House. This has made regard and alliances at large with the broader peerage of Thalassian society tenuous, but the capital city and harbor of Seahallow bustle with work and trade, and House Greyflame stands under the beneficent recognition of the State and Magisterium — for now. History The Founding of Quel'thalas Not settled until later in the diaspora of the newly-settled Thalassian peoples, the Tempest Coast became home to the households which over millennia would eventually become the Glanfathen - ''in the modern day, the House of Eir-Glanfath. They drew and venerated a mystic power seated in the land and the ley, forming into communities around ''Dhinen'shal, the region's oldest elven settlement. Growing isolationism and a lacking commitment to trade - even by sea - would eventually spell a long and slow decline for the prosperity of the region, until it became a relatively isolated network of communities who lived off the land and practiced a religious tradition which venerated the forces of nature that permeated the Coast. Despite that decline, Glanfathen traditions persist in the modern society of the Tempest Coast. They manifest in as little as hunter's and sailor's superstitions or as large as forming the roots of the Coast's Squallshaping and Storm Magic arcane practices for which it is known. The people of the old faith, and the Old Faith itself, have a way of persisting stubbornly through the ages. The Troll Wars and Resettlement The Troll Wars brought heated conflict to the peoples of the coast, as tribes of western Amani descended from their ancient and largely unmolested mountain holds in the southern part of the region. It became the site of true military conflict with the landfall of Thalassian naval forces in present-day Seahallow, eventually forcing the forest trolls back - though not without plenty of bloodshed and plenty of losses for the people of the Coast. Diminished by losses sustained, the Glanfathen peoples' claim on the land was superseded by newly official royal grants of land, given with the intent to populate the coastline and remake the Tempest Coast into a maritime component of the Thalassian economy. Resettlement would be headed first by the presently extinct House of Stormbow, ''with others following in the decades after - Squallcrest, Blacksand, and Eir-Glanfath. The region would see new heights of prosperity upon the foundings of the many human kingdoms, and it benefitted from a market which spanned down the western coast of the Eastern Kingdoms and the Great Sea at large. Nested behind its near-constant storms and safeguarded by robust magical practices to subvert them, it also became a bastion of naval power which would hold a position during the battles of the Second War. The Fall of Quel'thalas The Fall which devastated all of Quel'thalas had no less an impact on the Coast; though far out of reach of the main Scourge force, it was assaulted by waves of ghoulish undead and gargoyles which descended from the mountains. Many of the Coast's forces - including the reigning House of Stormbow - managed to stand a proud, singular defense before suffering a brutal reprisal that left the House extinct and functionally defunct. Evacuation of civilians went either underground, into the vast system of caves and tunnels which stretched deep beneath the coast, or out onto the sea as ships desperately fled harbor. Those who survived are those who were able to outspeed or escape the notice of hordes of flying gargoyles, or those who did not draw the notice of ghouls in their underground refuge, cornered in the dark. Aftermath In the aftermath of the Fall, returning survivors mounted holdouts and refuge on Squallcrest Isle, where northern aid could sail out of reach of the infested Scourge and where tentative inroads to the mainland coastline would be mobile by boat and ship. Just as well, on Squallcrest Isle survivors would survive their addiction on the ley, harvesting from the same potency of power which battered the region in storm. ''Ceana Greyflame, head of her household, rose to prominence first here; as the closest knightly vassal to the late House Stormbow and a surviving soldier, she was a much-apparent figure in efforts of refuge and reclamation. It would not be until the return of Magister Antarion Skyshatter, now head of his household, that true efforts at eliminating the Scourge could take place. Politically, however, the Tempest Coast was in shambles; upon the reclaiming of Seahallow and Greyhall, the former seat of power, the situation was resolved when Ceana Greyflame staked her claim on leadership of the land. Backed by House Skyshatter for her long friendship and alliance with Antarion and by House Eir-Glanfath for her long history with the people of the old faith, as well as leveraging her prestigious career of knighthood which arose out of her status as a folk hero, Ceana's control was cemented. This came much to the chagrin of Houses Squallcrest and Blacksand, the former of which had hosted refugees and the latter of which was suffering the pains of an eviscerated merchant fleet. They would later challenge the leadership of House Greyflame by several means, but eventually and begrudgingly agreed to a unified front. The Storm Magi, with their military experience and devastating control over electricity, were pivotal in the gradual reclamation of the coast. The Blasted Scar, which stands high on the mountain pass into the east, is a blackened stretch of woods which holds back the Blight of the Ghostlands - a feat performed when, by order of Lady Greyflame, the magi electrocuted a broad swathe of the woodland to cut it off. Other holdings would be reclaimed as well, with House Greyflame subsuming much of the defunct Stormbow's holdings and taking their seat at Greyhall, overlooking the harbors of Seahallow. Rebuilding With a new political paradigm sweeping across the whole of Quel'thalas, the newly-reigning Lady Greyflame was swift and untiring in efforts to reforge and reconnect the Tempest Coast. New connections with the Horde provided new trade connections across the Great Sea and to Kalimdor, lessening the sting of so many lost markets and well-traveled sea lanes down the Eastern Kingdoms. The coast was rebuilt as a haven for the disenfranchised many whose home now lay in blighted ruin, making inroads into supporting the recently-broken Thalassian maritime economy and making a number of grants of vassalship - both to prominent persons who arose out of the aftermath of the Fall and those who came to the Coast in search of a new home. Disagreements were rife with the new politics of the Coast, though through all grievances the Lady Greyflame has held firm to her claim on the land and the Peerage's collective promise to present a united front for the better of the land and its people. Much effort has been spent chiefly to make as many alliances abroad as possible, especially with House Indaris of the Gilded Lands and House Dawnwind of Dawn's Reach. Collectively, the Tempest Coast's efforts to take a stronger position has earned it the favor of the State and Magisterium, even if the majority of its towns and hamlets still lay in ruins. The undead still linger as well, in deep and dark places - ghouls often infest the underground caves and tunnels, or lay piled and dormant at the bottom of the sea. Peerage House Greyflame Lead by Lady Ceana Greyflame, House Greyflame originated as a vassal knight's holding in a town bordering Eir-Glanfath. She was originally granted the honor for her heroism and her status as a folk hero to the common people of the Coast, after gaining notoriety in armed conflict with the Amani some two hundred years before the present day. Currently, it holds its seat in the stone cliffside of Greyhall, overlooking the growing port of Seahallow. Disrespect and poor regard are the most common reaction to the House, in matters concerning other noble houses of Quel'thalas. It is quietly but no less well-known that the family has not an ounce of high-born blood, regarded as heavy-handed with supposed peers at best and brutish at worst. Its heraldry is that of a boar amid flames, chosen to embody the family's collective determination and strong will - a virtue they have in spades, even as there number only two survivors. House Skyshatter Lead by Magister Antarion Skyshatter, House Skyshatter is the coast's most prominently magical house - the center of its traditions of militant Storm Magi, who have for generations played a pivotal role in the region's defense. Their name is well-earned, by the historic feats of ruin their magi have invoked when acting in unison, their heraldry that of a dragon amid storm. Their seat lies on the tall, rocky plateau of Skyshatter Overlook, the highest cliffpoint at which they have a tower which holds their store of knowledge and power. Skyshatter holds the closest relationship with the Magisterium and thus the State, valuable for their unorthodox traditions. The men and women of the house themselves, and the vassals whom they train, are known for being quick and cunning and thunderously powerful when sufficiently roused. Coupled with House Greyflame, they provide the strongest number of able bodies to the Coast's military presence. House Eir-Glanfath Lead by Lord Esgarion Eir-Glanfath, House Eir-Glanfath collectively represents the surviving bloodlines that have dwelled in the Tempest Coast since the first high elven settlers. They are old and traditional, deeply committed to their landholdings in the mountains and foothills of the north and their reverence of the Old Faith. Their seat is at Dhinen'shal, the first stronghold built on the land, and to the rest of the coast they are known largely for their ceremonial import and their patronage of the region's Farstriders. They are quietly known to have druidic practices as well, though this has rarely been a credit to their standing as a properly Thalassian household in the post-troll wars cultural shift of the Coast. Still, they hold a large amount of popular sway built upon superstition and religion, which affords them their portion of political power. If they take umbrage in the way rulership was denied to them after the Resettlement, they have not made it known - though such a thing is always a consideration in the minds of the other houses. Its heraldry is that of a stag amid mountains. House Squallcrest Lead by Lord Calasar Squallcrest, House Squallcrest holds a strong position both as holding the majority of the shipbuilding in the Coast, but also their holdings on an island separated from the Mainland - a fact which has always entitled them to a favorable position in politics and economics. After their role in giving refuge after the Fall, then, their loss in power after the destruction of their fleet and the rise to power of a common-blooded knight has chagrined them even as they cooperate for the betterment of the coast. Their seat of power is at the harbor of Delyros, which serves as the second-busiest port in the region and, historically, has been a checkpoint of naval power. They are also patrons of the squallshaping arts, which - much like the Storm Magi of House Skyshatter - holds roots in ancient Glanfathen traditions and associations with the Old Faith. With their role in shipbuilding, they control and usher much of the sea lanes moving in and out of the Tempest Coast and enchant the region's ships, which make them a valuable maritime asset both in commercial trade and naval power. Its heraldry is that of a horse amid waves. House Blacksand Headed by Lady Velatha Blacksand, House Blacksand is the Tempest Coast's most economically-concerned holding, with more merchant vessels, overseas contracts, and political contacts than any vassal knight or mage. So times were, before the Fall - amid changing markets and a shattered population, they have lost much of the prosperity they once held, and are bitter for it. Still, economics has been a chief concern of the peerage since rebuilding, and such a thing gives them power still despite their remaining desires for Alliance-held markets further down the Eastern Kingdoms. Their seat of power is held by technicality upon an estate in the port city of Falorin - a city of many docks and canals whose districts are deserted and abandoned in the majority, surrounded by beaches of black sand. Overshadowed by the rebuilt grandeur of Seahallow and Delyros, they operate by necessity in close proximity to Houses Greyflame and Squallcrest to promote the Coast's economic interests in any vessel that enters or leaves friendly harbors. Its heraldry is that of a magpie. Persons of Interest Lady Ceana Greyflame A woman with an almost larger-than-life reputation and presence to the people of the Tempest Coast, Ceana's history is long and storied and perhaps fraught with exaggeration, to those outside her inner circle. To those who favor her, she is a wise and firm leader, utterly devoted to the betterment of her people - as well as a fearsome warrior of unparalleled might, who has met every challenge by blade and spell and emerged victory; a fittingly inspirational facade to many, and one to which she holds. To those who disparage her, the concern is instead laid in her origins: of blood as common as the dirt she tilled as a youth, of being an upstart too brutish and bullheaded for the proper course of Thalassian aristocracy. Even then, however, she commands some level of fearful respect; her claim on the Tempest Coast is strong, and tales of duels with spellblades and arcanists remark on her ability to shrug off destructive and debilitating spells alike, and snuff out magic like wind to a candle with the force of a stare. A grand image, in sum. One can only imagine the strain that wears on her, in the privacy of Greyhall's stone halls and chambers. Hyserian Greyflame A charming young man by every account, Hyserian Greyflame is Ceana's nephew and only blood heir - a fact which has placed every expectation upon his shoulders, for the sake of his household and his people. Only a boy at the time of the Fall of Quel'thalas, House Greyflame's efforts to rebuild the Coast and make allies has defined his adolescence and adulthood both - raised on education in diplomacy and etiquette and trained in the battlemage traditions of House Skyshatter. He travels often, as his House's more palatable voice and image - though privately, it wears on him as much as it does his Aunt. Magister Antarion Skyshatter A man who came into being the head of the Skyshatter household upon the death of his father during the Fall, Antarion is a man with a long career of exemplary military and magical service - a veritable master of storm and war magic, with the frightening affectation of being a man possessed by a thunderstorm upon the battlefield. Such a thing ignores his natural eccentricity and enthusiasm for all the things he favors; he enjoys his position as Lady Greyflame's Court Mage, and all the agency it affords him to pursue matters of an intellectual nature. His history with Ceana is as long as her own history in the Coast, as old comrades in the days of armed skirmishes and forces fielded in the south. He has been a steadfast ally of hers, and leveraged his House's power to back up her claim to leadership at Greyhall. More salacious rumors suggest a more romantic nature between them, though no one suggests such a thing openly; the Lady herself has borne no children of her own and never married, despite her position. Lathalys Embershade A face who has emerged relatively recently, in the grand scheme of the Coast; Lathalys is one of many drawn to the Coast's promise of work and opportunity after it was reclaimed and rebuilt, and with her shrewd intellect, personable guise, and prudent awareness of people, eventually came into Ceana Greyflame's favor and earned a position that can best be called Spymaster. None call it such where there might be any prying ears to hear, of course - but one cannot discount the benefit Ceana reaps by being able to keep tabs on her more tenuous allies across the Coast and abroad, one eye always open for both warning and opportunity. At the very least the woman is paid very well for her ability to have a home at Greyhall and spend so much of her time in other people's estates. Category:Quel'Thalas Locations Category:Quel'Thalas Peerage